Moor Green in February

Well, having frozen under a grey sky for a month, the weather seems to have taken a turn for the better (and wetter). Last Saturday there were loads of people on site re-examining their sodden plot, blinking in the sunshine and planning for the spring! Things are moving now. Daffs are poking out here and there - snowdrops in lovely bunches all over the site. Primroses emerging here and there...

And the rhubarb is really coming on in places...

Looks almost as good as it's going to taste.....

And the most beautiful country lane in Birmingham is starting to look attractive again....

This particular rustic route starts at the toilets near the borehole...

We're getting ready too, tidying up the Seedstore, siting security cameras, making marmalade, and planting a hedge. All in this month's Newsletter.

Marmalade Competition

Here it is folks - don't miss it! You can enter as many jars as you like (if you do different batches etc). £1 per jar payable when entering your jars. Please don't put labels on your jars. Each jar will be allocated a number when entered. You can bring your marmalade up on Saturday or Sunday - last entry now at 3pm on Sunday.

We will also have Bathams on draught. Good luck!

Plot Inspections

We're about to start plot inspection this year. Just a gentle reminder of tenants' responsibilities from the Allotment Rulebook. "It is a condition of an allotment tenancy that a plot is well cultivated (i.e. the majority of the plot is used to grow crops).  Plots must be well maintained and kept under control to minimise weed spread to adjoining plots."

Usually three of us tour the whole site checking plots to see how well maintained they are. To be clear we are pretty generous in our definitions of "well cultivated and maintained": we're really only interested in those plots that don't come close to the definition. And even then we write to ask whether there's a reason (like illness or enforced absence) for the lack of work on the plot - there often is. And we give anyone we write to 28 days to tackle the issue. We do think it's only fair to other tenants though to take action, which could result in termination of tenancy, where there is no real evidence of commitment. Having a plot on this site is a real privilege. The 90 strong waiting list is evidence of that.

Seedstore Opening

Chitting time is nearly upon us! Potatoes and onions have now been received and placed in Seedstore.  We're expecting - thanks to Phil - to be open the Seedstore first weekend in March and at weekends thereafter. We still need volunteers though to help keep it open every weekend. Please contact us at madahal.seedstore@gmail.com if you can help. A couple of hours per month at weekends would be great.

We also have a new deal with York Supplies in Kings Heath - now a not-for-profit community enterprise and keen to work in partnership with us . We get a discount for anything we buy from them in bulk which of course we pass onto you dear reader. So we now have compost and manure for sale in the Seedstore bought as part of the deal. Come and have a look and let Phil know what else it would be useful to stock.

Even better, if you're a Moor Green tenant you get a 5% discount on any gardening products you buy at the York Supplies shop in York Road. You can prove who you are by waving one of these little key fobs to the staff. Pick one up at the Clubhouse from Bernard - usually around at the weekend after 3.00.

I'm from Moor Green and I claim my discount!

We have a Hedgerow!

Well not quite yet. Well, not for 7-10 years to be honest. But we're planning - and planting - for the future . We have 420 hedgerow saplings arriving in early March. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to plant these in a zig zag line outside the new boundary fence down the Holders Lane side of the site. Come and help us plant them all. We need up to 20 volunteers for a couple of hours at 11.00 on Saturday 22nd March. Bring a spade and stout shoes or wellies - and the kids. This is going to be fun. We'll supply refreshments and sound advice on tree planting. I'm told it involves sticking your spade in the ground and dropping the tree root into the gap you've made, but that sounds far too easy. So that we have some idea of how many volunteers we might have, click the button below if you're in!

Count Me In!

Goodbye old friend

Many of you will know Malcolm McLean - long standing plotholder and lovely man, who died a couple of weeks ago. Malcolm was a quiet, clever, funny, unassuming man who, together with Sue his wife, kept a couple of half plots in enviable condition. Your editor was his next door neighbour and doing most of the envying. He always had time to share his knowledge, grumble about marestail, puzzle over the details of life, allotment related or not, and help his neighbours with the big jobs. He was also a strong supporter of the Association and a very generous donor to the funds which helped restore the Clubhouse. He will be greatly missed.

AGM – early notice

This year's Annual General Meeting is on Saturday 3rd May at 10.30 a.m. Please come! We keep the formal business - appointing a new committee and receiving annual reports - pretty short but it's the only time that you get to hear and comment on what people have been doing on your behalf all year and your input is vital. We'll put out the formal notice on the Zone noticeboards in due course but you could put the date in your diary now .

That's all for this month folks - happy plotting!